It's raining.
Yes, it's December, and yes, it ought to be snowing, but try to convince the rain of that.
It's coming down hard, and it's so cold that it freezes to the bare tree branches, leaving a slick, glassy ice coating.

It's in this lovely weather that Matteo has chosen to slip out of the city and into his 'natural habitat'. The place is (mostly) quiet, (mostly) undisturbed, and there's a good chance that no one will be around. Matteo's counting on the fact that he's the only one stupid enough to venture outside in this weather,...but now, hunching his shoulders against the cold and burying his hands in the pockets of his sopping-wet coat, he wishes he weren't so bloody stupid.

"Th' ice out here..., everything's frozen," the faun mumbles, crouching behind a tree and letting himself slide into the snowdrift at its base. He fishes a rust-spattered harmonica out of his coat pocket and blows into it. Not liking the sound it makes, he drops it ("'s a piece of junk anyway...") and starts humming to himself. The song's barely recognizable as a song. It could just be Matteo playing around with sounds, if it weren't for the fact that he hasn't a creative bone in his body.

It must've been something about the rain, even at temperatures like this. The rain should've been snow or, more appropriately, hale, but it wasn't. It was rain. Awful, freezing, nasty rain. But it was the rain that brought him outside, anyway. He hated snow, but the rain was soothing. Even at a time like this.

Gin slipped discreetly out of his father's house, covered in bruises and cuts as was general for him. He tossed on a wrinkled black shirt over black pants. On his feet were black boots.

His footsteps were hurried, but not because he was being chased. He was running as if he had to do so, or else he'd miss the rain. Where he was running to, no passerby could tell. Not even Gin himself couldn't even really tell, until he stopped running and sort of drifted into the conservation area, led by the music. His footsteps slowed, and he nearly just stopped and stood in the rain. It pelted his pale skin. His cheeks were slightly flushed. But he was there and it felt strangely... good.

He slid on the ice. He heaved a relieved sigh. He stood in the rain. He let it wash over him. He listened for the song that he didn't recognize and continued to drift towards it. He might've been at peace, but his voice was timid as he called out a 'hello?' to whoever might be there.

Matteo gave a start, automatically reaching down to adjust the hem of his muddied coat to make sure nothing strange about him would be visible. He quit humming, his wide green eyes anxiously roving the surroundings.

"...Who's there?"
Even in those two words, his bizarre accent is apparent. The 'r' is too liquid, the vowels too broad, and it doesn't seem to belong to any easily recognizable language. On top of that, his voice sounds as timid as Gin's. "Hello? Person?"

Gin sure didn't recognize the accent as anything he knew, but that didn't seem to bother him. He took a step forward (and it didn't even look like a step. He was gliding along now) and squinted against the rain. "I..., um, I'm sorry," he called very softly.

"I'm okay.., I mean... I won't... I'm not mean," he finally settled for.

"Are you okay?"

The faun just stared at him for a moment, blinking as rain dripped off his hair into his eyes. His hair, normally short, curly, and dark brown, was plastered down with water and appeared black. The longer strands in front dangled limply over his forehead - not doing their intended job, which was concealing his horns.

"I'm,...okay," he answered slowly and quietly, puzzled by the question. "Just wet. It's cold."
Matteo frowned up at the boy, bemused and maybe a little bit spooked.
"...What are you doing out here?"

Good thing it was hard to see in the rain, or else Gin would probably be really freaked out. He was still squinting, unable to see very well.

"I like the rain. And I heard..., um, music." He shoved his hands in his pockets and progressed further.

"...you?" He asked, instinctively.

"Oh. Um. That, uh - that was me,... so sorry," he winced, embarassed. Matteo didn't like to make any kind of noise when people were around, much less music or, gods forbid, song. In that sense, his shyness could be a bit extreme.

"I'm, ... I don't know." He looked hopelessly at Gin, and offered up an plainly invented excuse. "I came out for... the fresh air? I think..."

"Don't be sorry," he offered after a moment. "was... nice." He was trying to make out Matteo's face. And, those... horns. Those weren't horns, were they? Gin squinted more. The rain was getting in his way too much to tell.

"That's... silly. There's no fresh air out here. What's your name?"

He ventured closer, trying to see if those really were horns.

"Mm,...thanks," he nodded, carefully watching Gin's every move as if he expected the youth to attack. When he realized what the boy was peering at, he let a hand drift up to check if - oh. Uh-oh.

He nervously brushed his wet hair into place over the horns (it didn't work) and started sliding back from Gin, though he didn't get up.
"Uh, it's. Um. It's Matteo. Yours?"

Gin's immediately stopped when Matteo started sliding away from him.

"Gin," he answered, "like... the drink. Are you... afraid of me?" He managed to ask, his expression drawing into one of sympathy.

Matteo swallowed hard, and stopped backing away when Gin stopped approaching.
"Afraid?" he almost snapped. It wouldn't do to admit he was afraid - and what was to be frightened of?

"Nnno..." he said slowly, the edge gone from his voice. Then it turned plaintive. "But,..but maybe it's better if you stay where you are, alright? Please don't come any closer."

"...'kay. 'm sorry, then, Matteo."

He shivered in the rain finally, and smiled a weak smile. "I... guess I should let you be... don't catch a cold out here."

He turned to leave.

"Alright," Matteo nodded. "Don't,...don't you catch a cold either."

Funny how, if Gin had insisted on coming closer, Matteo would have wanted him to leave,... but now that he was going to leave, Matteo didn't mind if he stayed.
(If he stayed at a safe distance, that is.)

"You don't have to leave," he offered, after struggling with himself for a moment.

Gin turned back. "You don't mind if I stay, then? I... I won't come any closer, if you don't... want."

Though it was an awfully odd thing to do to just stand in the rain and talk from a distance, Gin didn't mind.

"Did... Are you... 'njoying it out here?"

"No, you can stay," he nodded, looking earnest. He didn't mind company, when it was nonthreatening, and Gin was at a comfortable distance now. A 'comfortable distance' to Matteo was one at which he had enough space to run away if he started to get nervous.

"Um,...yes and no?" He brushed absently at the hem of his coat, removing flecks of mud. "The quiet, it's nice, but it would be nicer if it weren't so wet. I don't mind being cold,.. it's being wet as well as cold that bothers me."
Matteo paused to peer at Gin.
"You're.. not dressed very well for the weather," he observed.

"Okay." He slipped his hands into his wet pants' pockets, closing his eyes. He knew about personal space. He didn't move.

"Wet and cold, put that way, doesn't sound too good. Why're you out here, then? You can get fresh air by opening a window..."

Shiver. "Um... I'm not, huh?" Sort of shrug. He hadn't done it intentionally, but he didn't notice the pain he was feeling because he was so wet and cold. "Oh, well." He sighed.

Matteo didn't mention it, but the reason being wet bothered him was that his fur took forever to dry and he'd be cold until it did. His fur was somewhat water-repellent, but definitely not waterproof.

"Yes. Um. I was telling... half a truth. I like the air, but mostly I like to come out here because it's empty. Deserted. You know." He shrugged a shoulder. "...You must be frozen."

"Oh." He managed to laugh, just a little, and glanced briefly over his shoulder. It was a habit. He wanted to see if anyone was following or had followed him. All clear. "I guess it's not so empty anymore, is it?"

"Kind of. D'you... plan to go home anytime soon? I, er... it's cold. And stuff. And I meant what I said, to... not catch a cold."

He glanced back again and his gaze sort of lingered there for a minute.

He looked back once more and was still squinting against the rain, but he was pretty sure he saw something out of the ordinary.

"I... your.. um, d'you have..."

Way to change a conversation, hm?

"Maybe."
He didn't know quite why he'd stayed out, even when he knew how miserable it was going to make him. Possibly he was just really in need of some space... though, considering how much time he spent alone, one would think he had all the space he needed.

"Do I have what?" He put on a faintly quizzical tone. There was going to be no point in lying - if Gin had seen somethng, then he'd seen it. And Matteo wasn't terribly good at lying, anyway. He never had much practice.

Gin was beginning to try and rationalize what he saw.

Maybe I'm just crazy like Chris says I am, he suggested. Maybe I'm hallucinating, 'cause he smacked me so hard. Maybe it's the rain.

Okay, okay... just ask nicely, and worst case he'll say your crazy. Come on, Gin... nice, slow and easy. Graceful.

What came out of his mouth wasn't nice, slow, easy, or graceful.

"Horns," he didn't mean to say.

"I mean, d'you have..."

Right.

"Um,...well, I... that is to say..." Matteo rambled, not wanting to admit anything. He reached up to brush his hair over the horns, but it was too wet and barely hid them anyway, even when it was dry. He gave a quivery sort of smile.

Finally, he said, "...Yes."

Oh, god. I'm not crazy. But that's not bad, is it...? Or is it bad? He has horns.

Gin swallowed. "B...ut... you're.. not gonna.. hurt me or anything, right?" Gin thought Matteo was nice! But... anyone could be nice if they wanted something bad enough. Thing was, Gin associated horns with demons or such things. He wasn't big on reading and he couldn't read well, but what he had read (discluding Tonic's stories) included demons of a different sort than his father.

Don't be silly, Gin. He... he's prob'ly more afraid of you then you are of him. Like a spider. But not as ugly. He's, uhm, pretty even. Not ugly at all.

"'s... 's that why.. you didn't want me to come closer?" His voice was slightly shaky, still. "I... I hope you don't want to eat me. I.. I taste horrible, you know."

"Hurt you?"
Matteo raised an eyebrow, confused. That was totally not the reaction he'd been expecting. He'd been expecting either fascination (the bad kind that involved, somewhere along the line, capture), or run-away-screaming terror, or else cross-wielding - and none of those happened.

The confusion melted into a mixture of hurt and indignation.
"Eat you?" he scowled. "Of course not! That's-- ugh, I don't eat people!"

"I--, I... I'm sorry, it's just that I..." he felt quite flustered now. "I didn't mean... and I didn't want you to... um, well... 'm sorry, 'n.. 'n I didn't know..." he was sort of just babbling now.

"I didn't mean it, I mean. I'm really.. I'm.. just..."

Well. He obviously wasn't going to get his point across. He shivered and his cheeks flushed and he turned away again.

Great. Idiot. Even if he doesn't eat humans, he'll want to eat you now.

"I really didn't mean to offend," he murmured quietly and took a few steps back in the direction he'd come from.

"I'm... sure you didn't." He was, too. "But... just because I have horns, it doesn't make me... evil or anything. I don't eat people. And I won't hurt you. Promise."

This was odd. Usually Matteo was the one offering excuses and backing away. It felt strange to be on the other end.
Hurt a bit, too.

"I'm not-- well, what is it you think I am, exactly?"
(That was an earnest question, by the way. He honestly wanted to knwo.)

Was it right for Gin to be even more flustered now?

He turned back to face Matteo, but only because he really didn't want to be mean and walk away on top of calling him a people-eater. He was beginning to realize how that must've made Matteo feel. But it made Gin feel completely wacked out. Crazy. Insane. A psych-ward patient escaped from the mental hospital.

"'m sorry if I hurt your feelings." His shoulders sort of slumped. "'N I know I did." Matteo didn't seem to want to hurt or eat him, so he was safe. For now.

"Look, I... people think I'm crazy. Maybe.. maybe I am crazy. And... people... people with horns... I won't lie... they scare me. I've never seen... someone like you and I..."

He squinted and scrunched up his nose. "This sounds all wrong." He was shaking now.

"I..., I dunno... 's just..." he crossed his arms over his chest and took a step back. "I don't even know what I thought. A... monster, maybe. But you're not a monster. I see now, but..."

Have mercy and just eat me, Matteo. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

Matteo shifted, and stood. He's not very tall - the stucture of his legs makes him shorter than a human his same age. He took in all that Gin said, maybe nodding a little here and there. After he finished, he was silent for a while.

"...I'm real, if you're worried you're imagining me. But if it'll make you feel better, you can pretend I'm not. It's alright, I'll understand," he said after a while, stuffing his hands in the pockets of his sopping wet coat. "Don't be scared of me, though, okay? I'm not anything bad."

Then he did something unheard-of (for Matteo, anyway), and pulled up the hem of his coat, showing his hooves.
"I'm a faun. Not frightening at all, see?"
He dropped the coat again. He'd only done it to try and reassure Gin,... he was rapidly finding out he hated having someone scared of him.

"It's worse if I pretend you're not real," he murmured, "'cause that only confirms I'm crazy." And I'm not crazy. Or... am I? He was so... confused. Did he have a right to be confused? How could he be insane and sane at the same time? Oh, bother.

He stared at the revealed hooves until Matteo dropped the hem of his coat back over them.

"You're... you're really serious, then? You mean, you actually..."

"They're... like... real?"

"God... you're not kidding, are you? You... you really have... hooves... 'n stuff."

Gin took a turn away from being scared and thinking he was insane to being really, really fascinated and sorry for Matteo.

Matteo nodded, looking somewhat solemn.

"They're - I'm, I mean, real. As real as you are," he said firmly, "I'm not kidding. I ... don't kid. Anyway, I was born like this."

He folded himself up and sat down. He could sit comfortably now, not having to worry about hiding anything, and let his legs slide out sideways from under the coat. Charcoal-brown furred legs, cloven hoofs... one can see why it's difficult to keep from being discovered. People aren't generally very observant, but when they start noticing... watch out.

"Oh," was all he could manage for a little while.

"So... then... that's... why you came here?"

Gin clutched his shoulders tightly. It really was cold out here.

"'Cause it's all... empty... and... oh."

The conversation they'd shared was sort of playing back in his mind, and he was beginning to see why Matteo said/did things he didn't understand before.

"I'm really, really sorry. I mean... before I was just... well, y'know, frightened. Now... now I'm just sorry, still."

He found it hard to look away from Matteo, though.

"D... d'you... want to get out of this rain?"

More questions for Matteo later, probably. Gin was starting to turn into a... well, Gin-sicle.

"No, don't be sorry. There's nothing to be sorry for," Matteo said, smiling. "Really."

He stood (again) and brushed wet snow off his coat. He took one step towards Gin, and paused. What if Gin was just trying to trick him, to lure him somewhere...?

Then he gave himself a mental smack on the back of the head. Gin was a kid. He'd only just met him, but Teo was certain that had been genuine fear he'd shown earlier. He wouldn't be plotting anything. Of course he wouldn't.

"...Yes," he said finally, and continued towards the younger boy. "I think that would probably be a good idea."

He let out a sort of sigh of relief, but still held his shoulders tightly and watched Matteo stand once more.

"I was hoping you'd say yes," Gin announced somewhat cheerfully. "I dun wanna drown, or... y'know, freeze out here."

He stood his ground and waited for Matteo to approach by himself. He didn't want to seem intimidating or something, and Gin was very understanding about personal space.

"D'you know of any place that's... well, dry?"

He was not taking him back to his house and he didn't expect Matteo wanted him in his house after that... 'episode'. Plus, he had only just met the faun.

"Umm..." he mused, once he'd drawn level with Gin - he was actually standing within arm's reach of him. A frown deepened the permanent crease on his forehead. "There's... hmmm... well, there's the mall,... or that old bookstore, whatever it's called. Or my place."
He gave a small cough.
"But you wouldn't want to go there. So, the mall, or the bookstore,... unless you can think of someplace else."

"Mm... Which one's closer, you think?"

He was still standing his ground, watching Matteo draw nearer. He didn't look like so much of a monster up close. Actually, he didn't look like a monster at all.

He rose on the tose of his boots and then let his heels drop back onto the ground.

Cold, cold, cold.

Matteo frowned in thought, mentally going over the distances.

"The mall," he said finally. He seemed faintly annoyed - he'd like the mall a lot more if it weren't for the glossy, slippery tiled floors. "The mall's closer. The bookstore's deeper in the city, if I remember right."

"Okay. We'll go to the mall, then."

The mall was better, actually. It was easier to get lost in the crowd of people, so if Chris came after him he could just get himself lost on purpose.

"You okay walking with me?" He had to ask first.

"Mm-hmm." He nodded, took his first step in the general direction of the mall, then paused. "...If you're okay walking with me."

Matteo began nervously fluffing his wet hair with his fingertips, trying to get it dry enough that it would hide his horns. It wouldn't do to leave them sticking out like that, in plain sight.


((gah, short.))

"Mm, yep. I'm okay."

Gin followed Matteo and stepped forward. It was still raining. He should've brought an umbrella, but... well, that would defeat the purpose of wandering out in the rain. He was soaked to the bone now, though. Bother.

Fadeout on Hellmann Forest...

And fade in on the mall.
Matteo trotted through the doors, not even stopping to dry his hooves before stepping onto the slick floor because he was so eager to get inside where it was warm and dry. He gave his head a shake, spraying droplets of water off his curly hair.

"Mmm," he sighed happily.

Aaaah. Out of the rain at last. Gin followed Matteo inside.

"It's so warm 'n here..." he mused in a lightly pleased tone. Of course it wasn't that warm in the mall, but when you're near frozen it seems like it is. I think it's safe to say that they were thoroughly drenched, too.

"Maybe we should... buy some towels, though. Or something."

Generally, Gin just stole what he needed, but in a mall that'd be hard.

"Or... go to the foodcourt 'n sit somewhere to... y'know, dry off."